Medieval Siege Tower & Trebuchet!

Started by Leon, 28 November 2020, 11:39:56 PM

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Big Insect

Quote from: Techno II on 29 November 2020, 08:00:29 AM
Now genuine questions.
How DID they move those siege towers ?.......Or....How many men did it actually take to shift them ? They must have weighed a huge amount.
Did they construct them as close as possible to 'the castle/fortress'....Just out of range from bowshot, so there was the minimum amount of effort to get them to the walls ?
I note that Leon has mentioned horses being used to pull them into position.......How did they protect the horses ?.....A 'turtle shell of shields'. :-

Cheers - Interested of Wales. :)

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Orcs

Quote from: John Cook on 29 November 2020, 10:11:19 AM
Very nice.  Can we expect something to besiege soon, such as a 10mm model of Jerusalem?

There has been an Ian Weekly model of Beaumaris castle  in 10on ebay a couple of time recently . It went for £100
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Leon

Quote from: Raider4 on 29 November 2020, 09:21:56 AM
Although the trebuchet looks . . . big.

What height's the platform on the tower?

They were quite chunky!  I'll double check the different platforms on the tower but it's about 80mm overall height.  This is a good vid of the working trebuchet at Warwick Castle, to give an indication of size:



Quote from: fsn on 29 November 2020, 09:45:44 AM
One way to move a very heavy siege platform was to sink one or more posts into the ground by the castle walls and loop heavy pulleys and ropes around them. The platform was then attached to the ropes, and it could be moved forward by oxen walking away from the battle. The siege tower inched closer to the fortress walls, but the muscle power moving it only moved farther out of range.

That's interesting, I'd not found that info and it makes a lot more sense.  I'd read about manpower (loads of them and definitely more than the 4 we're supplying it with!) and horses pulling it, but of course the horses came into arrow range and were soon rather dissuaded from continuing in a forwardly manner...

Quote from: John Cook on 29 November 2020, 10:11:19 AM
Very nice.  Can we expect something to besiege soon, such as a 10mm model of Jerusalem?

No plans just yet but it is something I'd like to have a look at.  There's quite a few other companies making castles in 10mm I think, Kallistra has a lovely one and I think Blotz were making a modular set of walls/keeps?
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Leon

Quote from: Raider4 on 29 November 2020, 09:21:56 AM
What height's the platform on the tower?

The three platforms are at 30mm / 50mm / 70mm heights.
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madaxeman

So... I've repurposed a couple of these lovely little things to use as Cyrus' Mobile Towers as part of a 15mm Early Achaemenid Persian army !







Full details (and a link to download the wallpaper!) at https://madaxemandotcom.blogspot.com/2020/12/festive-persian-siege-towers-ok-its.html

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Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

That conversion and paint job proves we are all insane. Excellent stuff....
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Westmarcher

24 December 2020, 01:55:23 PM #27 Last Edit: 24 December 2020, 01:58:56 PM by Westmarcher
These siege towers look most impressive. I really like them. Great job! :-bd  
But someone needs to explain the horses to me (I'm not an Ancients era aficionado). The horse team is longer than the draw bridge so clearly they can't drag the tower right up to the city walls. Not only that, the horses have side protection but no overhead cover and with the besieged city walls being higher than the horses, the defenders will be shooting down on them. So clearly it would be best to unhitch the horses, etc. out of range and then manually push the tower up to the walls. But if you unhitch the horses out of range, then there's no need for the side protection. I don't get it.  :'(  

Bah Humbug! :P

p.s. Should the horse team be placed behind the tower to push it rather than pull it?  :-\
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Ithoriel

24 December 2020, 02:19:27 PM #28 Last Edit: 24 December 2020, 02:21:47 PM by Ithoriel
Westmarcher - Cyrus' towers were used on the battlefield.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thymbra

Lovely models. Though those are odd looking oxen pulling them :)
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madaxeman

Quote from: Ithoriel on 24 December 2020, 02:19:27 PM

Though those are odd looking oxen pulling them :)


Cyrus' clearly didn't have the same stuff in his "bits box" as I did when he originally put them together in 1:1 scale  ;D

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Westmarcher

Quote from: Ithoriel on 24 December 2020, 02:19:27 PM
Westmarcher - Cyrus' towers were used on the battlefield.

Excellent! Who'd've thunk it?*   :o

*well .... clearly one of Cyrus's pals.    :-B

... so, the drawbridge is actually for leisure purposes ... like a diving board?  :P
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

Techno II


Ithoriel

Quote from: Westmarcher on 24 December 2020, 03:25:02 PM
Excellent! Who'd've thunk it?*   :o

*well .... clearly one of Cyrus's pals.    :-B

... so, the drawbridge is actually for leisure purposes ... like a diving board?  :P

I believe the originals (there were five or six of them) had something more like a balcony than a diving platform, possibly more than one tier of balconies each able to hold 20 archers.

I believe madaxeman can be said to have captured the essence of the devices rather than the detailed actuality. And very nicely done it is too.
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madaxeman

Quote from: Ithoriel on 24 December 2020, 04:36:49 PM
I believe the originals (there were five or six of them) had something more like a balcony than a diving platform, possibly more than one tier of balconies each able to hold 20 archers.

I believe madaxeman can be said to have captured the essence of the devices rather than the detailed actuality. And very nicely done it is too.

I'm half way between being grateful to you for christening the "diving platform" bit of it, and dismayed that you have now encouraged me to spend the next few days hunting for a 15mm Persian infantryman in a diving pose... !
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Westmarcher

Quote from: madaxeman on 24 December 2020, 06:17:04 PM
.. and dismayed that you have now encouraged me to spend the next few days hunting for a 15mm Persian infantryman in a diving pose... !

=D> ;D ;D

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fsn

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Ithoriel

Quote from: madaxeman on 24 December 2020, 06:17:04 PM
I'm half way between being grateful to you for christening the "diving platform" bit of it, and dismayed that you have now encouraged me to spend the next few days hunting for a 15mm Persian infantryman in a diving pose... !

I have to say I had imagined it more as a launchpad for the Persian equivalent of the Goblin Doom Diver. :)
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